National health-care leaders call for 'urgent action' as ministers meet on P.E.I.
'We simply don't have enough people working in our health-care system'
Four groups representing doctors and nurses in Canada said in a joint statement Tuesday that the health ministers should leave the conference "with a clear commitment to urgent action."
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The statement said Canadians facing overcrowded emergency rooms and struggling to access care "are losing hope in their health care system."
"It really is a numbers game," Dr. Kathleen Ross, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said during an interview Wednesday. "We simply don't have enough people working in our health-care system."
Dr.
Kathleen Ross, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said
Canadians 'are losing hope in their health-care system' and struggling
to access care. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
Representatives from the association spent time this week touring one of P.E.I.'s new collaborative care clinics where doctors and other medical professionals work as part of an integrated health-care team.
On the Island these structures are called medical homes, and the CMA said they're something all Canadians should be able to access.
"We call them primary-care networks inside of British Columbia — all of these pockets of excellence — but we don't have universal access," said Ross.
Nurses, meanwhile, are using their chance to talk to the ministers to warn against further privatization in health, specifically the use of expensive private-agency nurses to fill shifts when positions are vacant or casual workers can't be found.
"[Spending] public dollars for health care to go into private agencies is losing a huge chunk of money that we need to put into investing into our own, publicly delivered health-care system," said Barbara Brookins, president of the P.E.I. Nurses Union, which represents more than 1,300 RNs and nurse practitioners.
Right now we have a large number of agency nurses and they're being compensated completely differently than our members, and treated differently. Obviously there is some animosity.
— Barbara Brookins
The union says almost a third of nursing positions in P.E.I. are vacant at the moment. Until this year, Brookins said, the use of agency nurses on the Island was uncommon.
"Right now we have a large number of agency nurses and they're being compensated completely differently than our members, and treated differently," Brookins said. "Obviously there is some animosity that happens."
Barbara
Brookins, president of the P.E.I. Nurses Union, says privatization, the
use of agency nurses, and violence in the workplace will be discussed
during the meetings. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
The conference host, P.E.I. Health Minister Mark McLane, said privatization was not discussed during Wednesday's meetings.
He said the federal government is "very strong" in its interpretation of the Canadian Health Act, adding: "In Prince Edward Island, we're very proud that we intend to follow that act."
McLane said Canada has to train more health-care workers or import them from abroad — rather than have provinces try to outbid each other for existing workers.
P.E.I.
Health Minister Mark McLane says it's unfortunate the shortage of
doctors wasn’t anticipated 10 or 15 years ago so that it could be dealt
with. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
"I know with my Atlantic counterparts, we talk about it on a regular basis," the health minister said. "I use the term 'net gain.' What can we do as a group for net gains in human resources?"
There are calls for Ottawa and the provinces to ratify agreements reached earlier this year for extra health-care funding — something B.C. announced Tuesday.
The suggestion is that those agreements will point toward health-care solutions, and the billions in extra funding will help pay for them.
The federal health minister, Mark Holland, arrived Tuesday and is set to take part in Thursday's meetings.
Bruce Normand
One could employ a doctor for a year using only the catering budget for this event. Remember how your tax dollars are spent the next time a politician says our health care system is in crisis. More bureaucracy on the way.
David Amos
Reply to Bruce Normand
Oh So True
Bob Wing
Grade 8 math is all that was needed to forecast the increase in staff required for the increase in population.
All the provinces are to blame but the feds really threw a monkey wrench into it by increasing the population before we had the capacity to deal with it.
Tammy Gore
Reply to Bob Wing
The Feds control the massive inflow of people.
robert jordan
Reply to Tammy Gore
yes at the request of the provinces
David Amos
Reply to robert jordan
True
Tammy Gore
Healthcare is failing in Canada.
Sunny Ways = Blame the Provinces.
Reply to Tammy Gore
Health Care = Provincial responsibility.
David Amos
Reply to Andrew Stat
Kinda sorta
Tammy Gore
So bringing in 1.2M new people in the last year with no healthcare, housing or infrastructure plan was a bad idea?
David Amos
Reply to Tammy Gore
Of course